KUALA LUMPUR, 5 SEPT – Palestinians housed at the Tuanku Mizan Military Hospital (HAT) here are given quality medical treatment in accordance with the standards set by the Ministry of Health, according to the Director General of the Malaysian Armed Forces Health Service (ATM) Lt Gen Datuk Dr Zulkeffeli Mat Jusoh.
He said a total of 60 health workers consisting of doctors, nurses and medical assistants are on duty around the clock to ensure that the Palestinians who are at the Tuanku Mizan HAT receive the best possible treatment to ensure that they recover from their injuries.
Of the 41 Palestinians who were injured and received treatment at the hospital, 11 cases required orthopedic surgery, including four that required the cooperation of specialist doctors from Hospital Selayang and Universiti Malaya Medical Center in addition to advisory services in the field of nephrology from Hospital Kuala Lumpur.
He said his party successfully performed surgery for an orbital implant on a child patient who lost a family member and is now waiting for the adjustment of false eyes.
“There are also two patients who need lip and palate correction and two patients who need prosthetic legs fitted,” said Dr Zulkeffeli during a special visit session with the media at the hospital recently.
Also present was the Commander of the Palestinian Nursing Mission, Brig Gen Dr Mohd Mansor Sharif and the Chief Nurse Supervisor of HAT Tuanku Mizan Headquarters, Nursyida Jamaludin.
Commenting further, Dr. Zulkeffeli said his side made preliminary preparations before accepting Palestinian patients to facilitate preparations in terms of the type of treatment required, the appointment of specialists and cooperative relations with other medical centers.
“The reconnaissance team consisting of specialist doctors from the ATM sent there earlier also helped a lot, especially in terms of ensuring that the medical reports of the patients who will be brought here are accurate.
“The medical reports we received at the initial stage were from Arabic before being translated into English and then into Malay, so there will indeed be things left out in the translation process and this team will ensure that the diagnosis reported is the same,” he said.
In the meantime, Dr Zulkeffeli said in addition to ensuring that the treatment of injuries suffered by Palestinians is carried out as best as possible, he also provides counseling services to ensure that the psychology of Palestinian patients is given attention.
He said his party provides a comfortable environment so that Palestinians who receive treatment at HAT Tuanku Mizan can adapt well in addition to getting help from staff at the Palestinian Embassy to facilitate communication between patients and doctors.
“Alhamdulillah, the discussions are day by day, they are getting more comfortable receiving treatment here and there are no worries about anything,” he said, adding that the average treated person appreciated Malaysia’s actions in providing medical treatment to them.
On August 16, 41 Palestinian patients affected by the conflict with Israel along with 86 of their relatives arrived at Subang Air Base near here from Al Maza Air Base, Egypt aboard two Royal Malaysian Air Force A-400M aircraft.
Meanwhile, Nursyida said staff who take care of Palestinian patients use various methods to communicate and gain the patients’ trust.
He said among the communication methods used include language translation applications such as Google Translatesign language and facial expressions to say hello and find out if you have taken your medicine or not.
Nursyida said the average Palestinian patient had gone through a long war situation before being brought to Malaysia and this made it difficult for them to trust foreigners in addition to their lack of understanding of English.
“At the initial stage of being here, they were very worried about safety, especially involving children. If before the mother would not leave the child alone in the ward, but now they dare to do so if they need to complete matters such as washing clothes or any matter at the transit house. After three weeks (at HAT Tuanku Mizan), we are here like family and they understand that Malaysians are sincere in helping,” he said. – Named
